G'Blue - It's all about you

THE SIGN ON THE WALL

2011-02-14T14:34:00.003+08:00

By Jeremy Robertson
Jeremy Robertson, "The Sign on the Wall", Liahona, August 2004, 8

It hung in a spot where we read it every day, and it changed one life forever.

Choose your friends wisely, for you will tend to be like them.” I had seen this little sign a million times and never thought anything of it. It was only one of many strategically placed thoughts and quotes that dotted the walls of our home. This one happened to be in the best location of all—right above the kitchen table.

When friends came over, we naturally congregated in the kitchen. Dates, late night movies, and quick lunches almost all involved the kitchen. Mom knew this and planned her attack accordingly. Years later I realized what a direct hit Mom had scored.

I was blessed with a lot of friends who are also members of the Church. We went to church and school together, and most of us went on missions at about the same time. However, there was one who was not exactly like the rest of us. His parents were divorced, and he was shuffled between their homes and the homes of friends. As a result, I think he always felt a little isolated and alone. He wore his hair long and always had at least one earring. Regardless, we loved him, and he was one of us.

During high school we witnessed him change; it was great. A short time after his 19th birthday he submitted his mission papers and received a call. A couple of months later we really understood the significance of this event.

The realization came on a cold, crisp Sunday in January. My friends and I had gathered to hear this young man speak in sacrament meeting. I had been invited to perform a musical number, so I sat on the stand. As I gazed over the crowd, I saw all of our friends, as well as my family; it was a wonderful sight. As my friend ventured to the pulpit, his eyes were a little red.

His talk opened with a question: “Do any of you know why I am here? Well, it is really very simple. I am here because of the many meals eaten at a friend’s table, a table with a sign above it that reads, ‘Choose your friends wisely, for you will tend to be like them.’ I want my friends to know that without their influence and love I wouldn’t be here today.”

As I looked down into the crowd, I saw my mother with tearful eyes and a smile.

From that day on, I have also thought about the effects my friends have had on my life. I don’t know if I would have served a mission without their example. I don’t know what kind of a person I would be today if it hadn’t been for the strength and love I received from such wonderful people. For that, I will be forever grateful, both to them and to my Heavenly Father.

I know that no one has forgotten the message shared from that pulpit. I also know that that sign, to this day, still hangs above our kitchen table.

Reference: Liahona

AN iPHONE FROM HEAVEN

2011-02-12T20:25:00.002+08:00

Since the day that iPhone was introduced last 2007, I wished that I have one too. It is because it amazed me of its features. It has video camera, portable player, WiFi ready, and etc.
Most people want it too like I do.

Now, I'm so happy that I have one in full. It has so many features that even the iPhone 4, the latest generation of iPhone, don't have. You can browse on it anytime even though there's no internet connection. Its inbox is always full of messages always and you can read it again and again.
It can capture pictures in your mind even from the beginning of the world. It doesn't have a battery, for it is full of power. It has a gallery full of beautiful wallpapers of your life. You can put some colors in it the way you want. This is my iPhone from heaven,--- my "scripture".

Although I don't have the original or the latest iPhone, still I am grateful that I have my scripture that even the latest invention cannot cope up with.

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal; But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." 3 Nephi 13:19-20

HEART'S DAY OF THE SAVIOR

2011-02-11T17:55:00.002+08:00

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Because of God's love for us, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for our sins. Heavenly Father perfectly knows what will happen to Jesus Christ.
Because of it, Jesus Christ as an obedient Son to His Father truly understand the meaning of love.
Also as a master teacher, Jesus Christ taught this principle unto his people:

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength..." Mark 12:30

This is the first and great commandment Jesus gave to us.
How does Jesus Christ knows perfectly about love?
It is because he is truly the Son of God and he acquired that attribute from His Father in Heaven and he understands what his Father's felt.
We all have that kind of attribute if only we discover, develop, and try to be like Christ.
Jesus Christ loves us as well as our Heavenly Father. He wants us to be like him. To act, to talk, and to walk like him. He is a man of righteousness. He demonstrated during his ministry how we must spend all our days loving our neighbors. He stated, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." John 13:34

Heart's day is on the air. It is the time also to perform what we have learned from our Savior. Not only we will spend time together with our loveones or sweethearts, but also to grab the opportunity to let other people see a Christ in you. Share a heart of a Savior.

LIKE NEPHI

2011-02-04T12:46:00.006+08:00

By Sheralee B. Hardy
Based on a true story

Sheralee B. Hardy, "Like Nephi", Liahona, Feb. 2008, F12–F14

“Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good” (Alma 37:37).

I stared out my bedroom window and saw a creepy spiderweb outside. Well, that was one thing I wouldn’t miss about this house: the spiders. Maybe our new house wouldn’t have spiders. Maybe I wouldn’t miss this run-down place after all.

“Yeah, right,” I grumbled to myself, lying down and pulling the covers over my head. Not miss this house, this neighborhood, my school class, my best friend? I’d face a whole house full of spiders before I’d willingly move.

“Tanya?” called Aunt Carrie from outside my bedroom door. She was tending my brothers and me.

I poked my head out of the covers. “What?”

“Can I come in and say good night?” she asked.

“I guess so,” I mumbled. If it had been anybody else, I might have said no. But Aunt Carrie was my favorite aunt. She let me try on her eye shadow, she gave us hot chocolate before bed, and she read me stories from the journal she wrote when she was 11, like me.

She came in the room and sat at the foot of my bed. “You’ve sure been quiet tonight, Tanya. Are you worried about the move?”

I groaned. “All my friends live here. Who am I going to walk to school with? Who will I sit by at lunch? I was going to start Young Women here and go to camp next summer—and now I won’t know anybody. I’ll have to start all over again.”

My voice trailed off as big tears filled my eyes. Aunt Carrie gave me a tissue. “It can’t be easy, leaving everyone you love and starting over someplace where you don’t know anybody,” she said.

I shook my head. It wasn’t easy at all.

Aunt Carrie continued. “You know, Tanya, when I think about moving, I think about Nephi.”

“Why Nephi?” I asked.

“Well, he probably wasn’t much older than you when his dad announced that his family was moving.”

I’d always pictured Nephi as an adult. “When was Nephi my age?” I asked.

Aunt Carrie picked up my Book of Mormon from my bedside table. She opened to 1 Nephi and started to explain. “You remember the story about Lehi, don’t you?”

I nodded. I knew how Lehi’s family obeyed the Lord and left their home.

Aunt Carrie read from the open book on her lap. “This is 1 Nephi 2:4: ‘And it came to pass that [Lehi] departed into the wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness.’ ”

“Did you say Nephi was my age?” I interrupted.

Aunt Carrie smiled. “I don’t know what his age was exactly, but he tells us in verse 16 that he was ‘exceedingly young.’ Even if he was older than you, I don’t think it was easy for him to leave his home. I bet he didn’t know a soul in the wilderness. There probably wasn’t a soul to know!’

I grinned. At least when we moved we would have neighbors. “So what did Nephi do?” I asked. “He never complained. Laman and Lemuel said, ‘Why do we have to leave Jerusalem? Why do we have to leave our riches and our house and our friends?’ But Nephi never complained. Why not?”

Aunt Carrie’s eyes twinkled, as though she had been hoping I would ask. “I don’t know all the answers, but Nephi gives us a clue in verse 16: ‘I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.’ ”

She looked at me, searching my eyes to see if I understood.

“So, he prayed,” I said.

“Yes.” Aunt Carrie’s voice grew softer, and she squeezed my hand. “Tanya,” she said, “you have a choice. You can complain about your move, like Laman and Lemuel, or you can take your difficulties to Heavenly Father in prayer. If you ask Him to, He will strengthen you as He strengthened Nephi.”

I looked at Aunt Carrie and felt warm all over. I sat up and gave her a big hug. “Thanks, Aunt Carrie,” I whispered.

“I love you, Tanya. Good night.”

After she turned off my light and closed the door behind her, I slipped from my bed to kneel on the floor. Maybe with Heavenly Father’s help I could make it through this move after all.

Reference/s: Liahona